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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/28406715">Dearly Departed</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper'>ThatScottishShipper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Zero | Fatal Frame, Zero | Project Zero | Fatal Frame (Video Games)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Blind Character, Chases, Demon Tag, Don’t repost to another site, Female Friendship, Gen, Ghosts, Gift Exchange, Guilt, Haunted Houses, Himuro Mansion, Holiday Horror 2020, Hurt/Comfort, Loneliness, Reference to being blinded/eye injury, Rituals, Sensory Deprivation</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-12-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-10 16:54:46</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>947</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/28406715</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThatScottishShipper/pseuds/ThatScottishShipper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Without sight and relying only on the sounds of the world around her, the lonely Blinded Maiden roams Himuro Mansion, desperate to find her dear childhood friend, Kirie.</p><p>*Written for Holiday Horror Exchange 2020.*</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Mekakushi Oni | Blinded &amp; Himuro Kirie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Holiday Horror 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Dearly Departed</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat2000/gifts">Cat2000</a>.</li>



    </ul></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <em>
    <span>“Where…. Where are you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>Along a quiet corridor, with peeling walls and floorboards that groaned at the slightest pressure, a young lady with long black hair in a faded purple kimono shuffled down, her hands stretched out in the darkness. White wrappings tied around her head obscured her sight, along with wounds that would never heal.</p><p>
  <span>She heard her sandalled feet shuffling beneath her. She heard the aged floorboards below creak in protest with every step.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the Blinded Maiden, whose once bright eyes took great pleasure in viewing the world around her, did not hear another soul, only her own calling into the depths of Himuro Mansion.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“My eyes…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>She searched and searched for someone, </span>
  <em>
    <span>anyone</span>
  </em>
  <span>, in the house that changed her life, but to no avail. Most importantly, she searched for her dearest childhood friend who she hadn’t seen since the day she lost her sight.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kirie… Where are you…?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They had both been chosen on the same day, one as the Blinded Maiden and the other the Rope Shrine Maiden. She had been caught first during the Demon Tag ritual, sealing her fate in the future. To be like the Blinded Maiden that caught her, eyes hidden behind a wooden mask with stakes protruding.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She had been told that Blinded Maidens were caught first because they had the weakest spiritual energy. No one told her that they were unable to perceive demons and were caught unaware.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kirie was the last child to be caught because, as a destined Rope Shrine Maiden, her spiritual powers were greater, allowing her to avoid the demons longest. After that day, she never saw Kirie again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the Blinded Maiden stumbled through the endless corridors, calling out Kirie’s name, she wondered if what happened was her fault? If she weren’t captured first, and she protected Kirie somehow, they wouldn’t have been torn apart and been all alone.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Then again, some other children would have been chosen in their place. Was it really any fairer to enforce their fates onto others?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But what happened to her… to Kirie...</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“My eyes…” </span>
  </em>
  <span>she wailed, desperately trying to find her way through Himuro Mansion. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Where…?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Blinded Maiden also lamented her failure to find Kirie. Perhaps she truly was weak, unable to sense someone that meant the world to her. Kirie would have no problem finding others, even in the pitch black world she currently inhabited.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kirie…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead, she relied on her other senses to interpret the world around her, forever changed by being robbed of her sight. Every sound became important in identifying where she had gotten to… and what company she kept.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Faint memories of running feet and calling names accompanied her through the shadows, and of course a little girl with long black hair and a kind smile…</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kirie? Is that you?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And so, the Blinded Maiden chased after the sounds of squeaking floorboards. She pursued the strange clicking sounds that only intensified in her presence.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nearby doors opened then closed, so the Blinded Maiden followed, phasing through to the other side.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kirie…? Are you playing?”</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>For a moment, the Blinded Maiden stopped, thinking back to a circle of children and a scary woman in a mask trying to catch them. She relived the terrifying moment when a tight grip squeezed her arm, ending her role in the game.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She… couldn’t do that to her dear friend, and yet… the despair of her loneliness crushed her.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I… don't want to be alone anymore… so please…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As the footsteps quickened, from the floorboards to the crushing of dead leaves, the Blinded Maiden desperately gave chase outside, swiftly keeping up with the first person she heard in so long.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The gentle wind whistled around her, the faint sounds of crows cawing and taking flight. The trail of breathing grew short and frantic, the clicking sounds chattering in the direction of the mysterious person.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The clatter of the garden gate being swung open caused the Blinded Maiden’s heart to sink.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Please… don’t go… Come back…”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She flew up the stone stairs, surrounded by jostling leaves above and crying crows, but the footsteps in front led her onward. Once the Blinded Maiden stepped onto wooden floorboards once more, entering a quiet building, the footsteps stopped.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>But the frightened breathing still reached her ears, followed by a gasp.</span>
</p><p>She stretched a hand out, her cold fingers eager to touch something warm, something alive.</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kirie… I’m sorry...”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then an indescribable sound she never heard before manifested nearby. It almost sounded like being submerged underwater, the sharp chime of what sounded like ceremony bells and chanting muffled to her ears.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Turning her head towards the sound, her tangled hair brushing against her cheek, the Blinded Maiden kept listening, trying to understand what exactly she was hearing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In an instant, the sounds became clearer, as if she had broken through the water’s surface and the world became clearer. It became deafening, filling the tiny closed in space and nearly drowning out everything else.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>All except the other person’s heavy breathing and terrified sounds, that curious clicking, a scream, and then, nothing.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the Blinded Maiden knew that the new presence still lingered, drawing closer even without footsteps. A hand touched her shoulder, soft hair tickling her face, and suddenly, a flash of remembrance.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another small girl, with beautiful long black hair and a sweet smile, running away from her and laughing. Her playful voice ringing across the courtyard as she kept looking back at her friend.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>‘Can’t catch me!’</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Blinded Maiden felt something wet sliding down her cheeks, and for the first time in what felt like forever, she didn’t feel alone anymore.</span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Kirie… I found you…”</span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Written for Cat2000 as part of the Holiday Horror Exchange 2020. Since Kirie and Blinded were both mentioned in the prompt, I decided to write a piece from Blinded’s perspective as she roams Himuro Mansion, trying to find her friend.</p><p>The Blinded ghost is one of my favourites (I even cosplayed her!) and I liked exploring a new element to her character. What if she and Kirie were friends? How would that change her character, especially as a ghost?</p><p>The story kind of tied into the main game as I reimagined the scene where Miku first meets Kirie in the shrine. Blinded Maiden following her then finally finding Kirie felt like a nice, natural ending, especially given how sad and tragic her character is.</p><p>Since they have practically no interactions in game, I really enjoyed switching up their dynamic, and fleshing them out a little. Well, as much as you can flesh out ghosts. 😋</p><p>Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. 🖤</p></blockquote></div></div>
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